Having scalped a bunch of Japanese and Korean Top Tenners in defensive marathons, the India duo will also need to strike consistency against pairings ranked much below them, but with steady attacking games. (AP/PTI)
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand once again fell wretchedly short against the left-right combination of Hung En-Tzu and Hsieh Pei Shan of Chinese Taipei, as they lost out on yet another chance to nail down a Super 300 title at the Macau Open.
There was a strong fightback in the mid-set, but eventually the Indians, ranked No 23, went down 17-21, 21-16, 10-21 against the World No 54. The Taiwanese have been a thorn in their flesh for three straight matches now, carrying forward the three-set losing streak from Canada and China onto Macau inside three months.
In whipping fast conditions, the court side of the drift played a massive role, as the Indians fell back 13-8 in the opening set, and were in a torrid state at 2-14 down in the decider, never recovering from those lopsided leads that were conceded.
Hung En-Tzu especially has delectable drops that caught Gayatri at the net, and sent Treesa the wrong way at the back court. While Treesa’s flatter smashes going deep pegged things back for the Indians in the mid set, the Taiwanese were far too aggressive to contend with for the slow-moving Indians.
The Taiwanese looked a well oiled combination, and exploited the angles that they manufactured from their left-right hard hitting games. The Indians, ranked No 23, have beaten these opponents just the first time they met, but despite the unimpressive ranking the Pairing, aged 23 and 26, has a neatly coordinated game that troubles the Indians plenty.
A 5-point surge mid-second set riding on Treesa’s aggression helped the Indians drag the match into the decider, including at 16-13 when Treesa bisected the opponents on a rare occasion. Gayatri’s anticipation at 18-13 and eventually a hold flick would offer the Indians a second chance after falling back in the opener.
Gayatri made good of the times when she could charge the net, but wasn’t the sharpest on this day, and her restricted movements meant the Taiwanese raced to a 11-2 lead in the final set. Treesa was ace in low defense and rained down her smashes, but wasn’t free of errors in long rallies, unable to string together a good run, ending their hopes in the semis.
Still in search of a Super 300+ title, the pair of 21-year-olds will continue to cop pressure to get past that line. Having scalped a bunch of Japanese and Korean Top Tenners in defensive marathons, the India duo will also need to strike consistency against pairings ranked much below them, but with steady attacking games.
